The Native American Journalists Association, based in Norman, Oklahoma
on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, has a unique and
challenging mission. Its primary goal is to improve communications among
Native people and between Native Americans and the general public.

The
work of the association addresses Native communications and encompasses
a wide range of issues affecting the survival and the development of
the Native media and Native communications.

Native leaders have
been long aware of the importance of the media to Native communities.
Since the establishment of The Cherokee Phoenix, the nation's first
bilingual Native newspaper first published 1828, there have been
continuous efforts by tribal people to address the news and information
needs of their communities. Only in recent times, with the advent of
modern communications technology, have the Native media progressed from a
local and regional focus to a national and international scope to meet
the communication needs of Native people. Out of this historical context
came the influences, philosophy and Native experiences with the media
which gave rise to the formation of a Native American Journalists
Association.

In 1983, a group of 30 Native American journalists
met at Pennsylvania State University, pursuant to a call from columnist Tim Giago and Adrian C. Louis, with assistance of Professor William Dulaney of Penn State. The conferees agreed that a national organization was needed to
reinvigorate the Native media, address the widespread barriers and
challenges facing Native journalists, and build on the strengths of
Native communications. The conference participants agreed to meet again
in early 1984 at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. At the meeting in
Oklahoma, the participants created a constitution and by-laws thereby
establishing the foundation for a national organization that they called
the Native American Press Association (NAPA). The name was changed in
1990, to the Native American Journalists Association to better reflect
the organization's broader goals and the inclusion of radio and
television professionals among its membership. Prior to the name change,
NAPA laid much of the groundwork for the present organization.

The following year, the founding members sought and secured its 501(c)(3) or tax-exempt status.